Post by Jenny Hughes Common Wealth Theatre Council Chambers – Bradford City Hall, 21 – 24 October 2015 “I’m really glad you’re all here, thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for coming. I wanted witnesses. I need you to see this and then go away and tell […]

A one-day symposium on theatre, poverty and inequality Martin Harris Centre, University of Manchester The Martin Harris Centre is building number 42 on the campus map available here – www.manchester.ac.uk/maps 4 November 2015 FULL PROGRAMME 9am: Registration, with coffee and tea 9.30 – 10.45: Welcome and keynote session 1: John McGrath & […]

Post by Jenny Hughes For an excellent introduction to Bolton at Home’s unique ‘Percent for Art’ scheme, have a look at the 7 minute film below. Here, Dawn Obe-Yates (Percent for Art Officer for Bolton South) gives an overview of the aims of Percent for Art and key points in […]

We are delighted to post this ‘guest blog’ by Carry Gorney – this is made up of excerpts from Carry’s book, Send me a parcel with a hundred lovely things. The title of this blog post comes from Suze Rotolo A memoir of Greenwich Village in the sixties (2008). I’m ready […]

Post by Jenny Hughes Thanks to the Melodramatics group for letting me sit in on some of their rehearsals towards their first piece of live performance, Seeing Red, which premiered in the Bill Naughton Studio Theatre of the Octagon Theatre on 21st September 2015 (see previous blog post ‘Seeing Red […]

Post by Jenny Hughes ‘Can everyone check they have their red bra please?’ – was the repeated appeal from director Lauren Ash in the final hours of the rehearsal of Seeing Red, an original drama exploring experiences of domestic violence, performed in the Bill Naughton Studio at the Octagon on 21st and […]

Post by Jenny Hughes I’ve been researching theatrical entertainments in Victorian workhouses, and have come across an extraordinary range of work that might be described as ‘fledgling’ social theatre from the 19th century, from missionary and temperance theatricals to solidarity and charity performances by popular performers, to amateur performances by […]

Post by Jenny Hughes It’s been a pleasure to be part of the latest art project at the Men’s Room Manchester, which celebrated its outcome a week or so ago. The project focused on musical performance, making use of rap, hip hop as well as spoken word poetry. The young men […]

Post by Jenny Hughes On Wednesday evening last week – a warm, late summer evening in central Manchester – Hulme Community Garden Centre was the site of the final outcome of the latest in a series of artist residencies at the Men’s Room in Manchester. The Men’s Room is an arts and […]

We are pleased to publish a ‘guest post’ by Lauren Ash – currently an MA Theatre and Performance student at the University of Manchester. Lauren completed a placement with the Learning & Participation Department at the Octagon Theatre (Bolton), working closely with Melodramatics – the women’s theatre group in New […]